A pastoral transition is one of the most impactful seasons in the life of a church. Whether a pastor retires, resigns or is called to another ministry, the transition can stir a wide range of emotions — grief, uncertainty, anxiety,…
NAMB skewered for its nonresponse response on Hunt’s compensation
Some of the most conservative media outlets covering Christianity in America are skewering the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board for its policy of communication by obfuscation. Protestia represents the far-far right of American evangelicalism. The latest headline at the…
Searching for Grace: A necessary ending
This is the first of a five-part fictional story set in the early 1990s about Rev. Paul Graham and his congregation, Grace United Church of Christ. In the spring of 1991, Rev. Paul Graham assumed the deacons meeting at…
Brian Flores, the Rooney Rule and some lessons for churches seeking diversity
“It happened again!” That was my thought when I got up to leave the church interview. Although this was pre-social media, I can remember it like it was yesterday. A very well-meaning friend sent my name into the medium-size church…
When will the church say of abuse, ‘It doesn’t have to be this way’?
“It does not have to be this way.” I am anxiously awaiting my faith community as a whole to say this for women. To say that being abused and harassed as a pastor or layperson can be addressed and not…